A loving variation on the old boy-and-his-dead-dog story, director Tim Burton's latest is a gleefully macabre kids movie and a triumph of visual design. You'll see some things here you've never seen onscreen before. By working simultaneously in three distinctive cinematic formats—3-D, black-and-white and stop-motion animation—Burton has created a brand new visual texture for his extended Frankenstein riff. The film folds in references to classic monster movies as well as nods to Burton's own Goth canon. It's fun to watch the film recycle story elements with new variations on Igor, the Bride and even the torch-wielding mob. The story is perfectly serviceable, but it's really just a structure on which to hang Burton's remarkable compositions.
ByGlenn McDonald